Thu 13 Mar 2008
Press Release:
On March 16th, the 5th Anniversary of Rachel’s death, members of the Hartford activist community will read the series of emails written between Rachel Corrie and her parents from the time of her arrival in the city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip, Palestine shortly before her death. This event is open to the public and there is no charge to attend.
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Thu 13 Mar 2008
A meeting of local Greens nominated Mike DeRosa and me for elective office last night. Mike will vie for the first district state senate seat now held by Democrat John Fonfara, representing parts of Hartford and Wethersfield, and I’ll oppose Democrat John Larson, who now occupies a seat in Congress representing Greater Hartford, Torrington, and Bristol. (more…)
Wed 12 Mar 2008
“If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position . . . And if he was a woman of any color he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept.” - Geraldine Ferraro
In responding to the comments by former vice-presidential candidate Ferraro, the media and political pundits have mostly focused on her suggestion that Barack Obama would not be a serious candidate for president if he were not African-American. That type of comment is well known to anyone who has spoken up to defend affirmative action programs.
Tue 11 Mar 2008
At last night’s Council meeting after the Mayor’s State of the City address an historical and democratic action was enacted. The chamber had emptied of all the hangers-on and was littered with paper indicating this seat for the Perez family. Only the serious and dedicated remained to hear the Consent and Action calendar. Clarke King, the president of my union AFSCME 1716, was present along with gadflys’ Alyssa Petersen and Nick Carbone. No one from the mainstream media was present; only Hartford Cable Access was there filming. There was no public portion.
Council went through the agenda, voting on several, amending some and sending others to committee. The last item was #39, the anti war resolution. Council persons Deutsch and Cotto presented the resolution and debate was engaged. Council person Segarra began with an affirmative support for the resolution as written citing the loss of life and economic cost to the city. Council persons Boucher and Ritter also responded with support saying the war had damaged lives on both sides. Council person Deutsch informed the chamber that five GI’s had died that very day in Iraq. Council person Kennedy, while supporting the thrust of the resolution, stated that City Council had no business interfering in national foreign policy. Council person Cotto said to the contrary that as we bleed and die for that foreign policy, we have every right and responsibility to act. Part of the resolution calls for a monthly reading of the casualty figures and honoring the dead and wounded. Council person Cotto said while that may be depressing perhaps we should be depressed once a month. In the course of living our lives and enjoying events and activities we need to remember what is happening to those of us caught up in war. Council person Airey-Wilson said nothing. (more…)
Tue 11 Mar 2008
For Ken Krayeske’s first-hand account of the action at City Hall, set your browser to http://www.the40yearplan.com/article_031108_Anti_War_Resolution.php
Sun 9 Mar 2008
There were two separate incidents this past week in Hartford in which police shot suspects. On Monday Joseph H. Bak was killed in the Firebox parking lot on Broad Street after a crime spree that ended with him allegedly threatening police with a knife. The police involved have reportedly been placed on “administrative” duty. And on Friday night a man in the same neighborhood (Russ and Hungerford) was shot during an attempted drug bust. He has been treated for injuries at a hospital. A man shot by police in East Haven last night died from those injuries. Today, Courant columnist Tom Condon wrote about another case of a person killed by local police.
This comes days after the release of the Pew Center report that states 1 in 99 American adults are in prison; that number increases sharply if looking at racial and ethnic minority populations.
Fri 7 Mar 2008
Because of an error in the placement of a legal notice in the local paper, Hartford Greens had to reschedule their nominating convention. The convention will be Wednesday, March 12, 7 pm, at 74 Tremont Street, Hartford (my house). I’m seeking the party nomination for the first district congressional seat now held by Democrat John Larson, and Mike DeRosa is expected to accept the nomination for the state senate seat held by Democrat John Fonfara. The first district is an insect-shaped area that includes Hartford and all the contiguous towns, along with Bristol, Torrington, Winsted, New Hartford, and a couple of other mill towns in Litchfield County. The convention is open to all, and Greens from any of the towns in the district have a vote in the nominating process for the congressional seat. Registrars of voters are up for election this year in Hartford and other towns, and Greens are particularly interested in finding candidates for these positions. Over the coming months, voters will be surveying the damage done to the country by the two parties. If ever there was an opportune year for third-party candidates, this is it.
Thu 6 Mar 2008
Our legal system wasn’t designed to keep the prisons full to capacity, but it accomplishes this with amazing consistency. Today, one out of every 100 people in America is in a penal institution. If we build them, they will come. (more…)
Tue 4 Mar 2008
The Pew Center on the States very recently revealed their report One in One Hundred: Behind Bars in 2008 which lays out a very sobering and distressing outlook of the US Prison Industrial Complex. This report is particularly pertinent given the CT Legislatures total avoidance of the unacceptable increases in the prison population in Connecticut and seemingly ignoring alternative means to incarceration.
Some key findings are: